Cream cracker

A generous dollop of vanilla ice cream on top of a crisp cone makes for an ideal companion on an early summer afternoon. Follow this advice and you'll be able to lick your own ices in to shape in no time at all

Making ice cream is a real passion of mine. It began during my childhood in London. Every Saturday morning, my grandmother would take my sister and I to her favourite haunt: Church Street market, off Edgware Road. On the way back, my grandmother would treat the pair of us to a tub of vanilla ice cream from the Regent snack bar. Just the thought of the contents of that carton made the couple of minutes that it took to walk home before devouring it seem like an age.

Basically, ice cream consists of a flavoured liquid containing fat, sugar and milk proteins. The custard is cooked until it thickens sufficiently to hold a horizontal line drawn through it with your finger on the back of a wooden spoon. Thickening the custard prevents crystallisation; the thinner the liquid, the more icy it becomes.

When the custard reaches around 82C (180F), it needs to be immediately cooled over ice. The mixture is then stored in the fridge or churned, either by hand or in a machine.

Churning by hand involves putting the mix in a plastic container in the freezer, until it begins to freeze at the edges, then removing it and beating with a whisk or, better still, an electric hand-blender before returning to the freezer.

Repeat this process at least twice at 90-minute intervals. Then leave the mix to harden for an hour or so before serving.

Vanilla ice cream

This will make approximately two litres.

625ml whole milk

120g unrefined caster sugar

6 medium egg yolks

6 vanilla pods

10 whole coffee beans

50ml skimmed milk powder

Place the vanilla pods on a chopping board and, using a small, sharp knife, cut along the length of each pod. Scrape out the seeds, put them into the whisking bowl of an electric mixer, or similar, and add the pods to the milk.

Pour the milk and vanilla pods into a casserole of at least 1.5-litre capacity. Add a dessertspoon of sugar, the coffee beans and the milk powder. Place the casserole on a medium heat and bring to 82C. As soon as it boils, turn down the heat and simmer for five minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the egg yolks into the whisking bowl containing the vanilla seeds, along with the rest of the sugar. Turn the machine to full speed for at least 10 minutes and beat until the mixture whitens and increases significantly in volume. Return the milk mixture to a simmer, then pour on to the egg mix, beating all the time.

Tip the resulting mixture back into the casserole and bring to 82C. Stir continuously - preferably with a flat-bottomed wooden spoon. It is vital that the mixture does not boil, otherwise it will become grainy. The custard is ready when it passes the spoon test described before.

Have ready a bowl large enough to hold all the mix, and sit it in a larger bowl containing ice and a little cold water. Pour the custard into the bowl and continue stirring for a few minutes until it is cold. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve. (The mixture can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to two days.)

Ensure the vanilla seeds are evenly distributed by thorough mixing. Churn the custard, then place in the freezer with some clingfilm pressed on to the surface of the ice cream. Freeze for two hours before serving.

Mrs Marshall's almond cornets

This recipe is extracted from The National Trust Recipes From The Dairy, by Robin Weir and Caroline Liddell, with Peter Brears, from an original 19th-century recipe by Agnes B Marshall, the first person to make an edible cone. You will need six cream horn (conical) tins, oiled inside and out. These measurements will make about 15 cornets.

225g ground almonds

110g caster or ultra-fine sugar

110g plain flour

4 medium eggs

Half a tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp rose-water

Wipe some non-stick baking trays with kitchen paper which has been moistened with vegetable oil. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F/gas mark 4. Beat together the eggs, vanilla extract and rose-water. In a separate large bowl, evenly mix the almonds, flour and sugar. Pour the egg mixture on to the dry ingredients and stir to form a stiff paste. Measure three level tablespoons of the mixture on to the greased baking tray and, using a small metal spatula, spread thinly and evenly into circles of about 14-15cm in diameter. Bake for seven to eight minutes, or until small blisters form on the surface as the wafers lift from the tray.

Remove the tray from the oven and, using a 14cm-diameter saucepan lid or plate as a guide, cut out a circle from each wafer. Roll each one firmly around a cream horn tin to form a cornet shape, then slip each horn tin inside another tin, to hold the shape. Place on a baking tray and return to the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 160C/325F/gas mark 3, and bake for a further 10-11 minutes, or until the cornets are tinged golden brown and crisp. Remove the cornets from the oven and set aside to cool, leaving the tins in place so the cornets keep their shape. Repeat with remaining mix.

Mrs Marshall's apple ice cream

Make the apple purée by sweating down some cored and peeled Bramleys, then passing them through a fine-mesh sieve.

280g smooth Bramley apple purée

500ml whipping cream, chilled

30g caster or ultra-fine sugar

1-2 tsp lemon juice

Chill the purée and cream in the fridge. Then combine with the sugar, and taste - add lemon juice if too sweet. Cool in the fridge. Churn the mixture for about 20 minutes, then scrape into freezer boxes, cover with greaseproof paper and a lid. Serve in about an hour, or if frozen allow 20 minutes in the fridge before serving